All posts tagged Colorado

A new publicity campaign from the group that created the controversial “Brosurance” keg-stand health-care ad is raising some eyebrows again, this time for the casual-sex theme in some of the ads.

While many of the new spots feature messages on the benefits of insurance for children, expectant moms and others, some of the ads are more provocative. One ad has the title “Let’s Get Physical,” with the text: “OMG, he’s hot! Let’s hope he’s as easy to get as this birth control. My health insurance covers the pill, which means all I have to worry about is getting him between the covers.” Another ad, playing on Ryan Gosling meme, starts, “Hey girl, you’re excited about easy access to birth control and I’m excited about getting to know you.” Read More »

Here’s a rundown of election results from some major races across the country, including closely watched governor and mayoral races, plus a handful of others, based on WSJ and Associated Press reporting. Read More »

Here’s a rundown of some major races Tuesday across the country, including closely watched governor and mayoral races, plus a handful of others, based on WSJ and Associated Press reporting. Read More »

Colorado and Kentucky emerged as winners in the fight to reopen the government, with money for roads in Colorado and a dam in Kentucky landing in a package that is set to clear Congress later Wednesday.

The package was worked out between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) in order to end a government shutdown and avoid a looming debt crisis. The fight over the terms for reopening the government went down to the wire, leaving little opportunity for anything extra to land in the package.

One of the few groups to get extra money was the Olmsted Lock and Dam Authority, which is being developed by URS Corp., a construction management company that develops projects for the government. The lock and dam, which is under construction on the Ohio River between Olmsted, Ill., and Monkey’s Eyebrow, Ky., would be authorized to receive $2.92 billion, up from $775 million. The company says the dam is one of the largest civil works projects ever undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will replace two of the original locks and dams completed in 1929. Construction will stop without more money, according to a summary of the bill… Read More »

Still recovering from massive flooding last month that destroyed mile after mile of roads and bridges, Colorado said Tuesday that it plans to use state funds to pay National Guard members to keep working amid the federal government shutdown. Read More »

On its face, the Senate’s immigration reform effort seems a bipartisan affair. Four Democratic and four Republican co-sponsors crafted a bill that would fundamentally change immigration and offer illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

But the fault lines around the bill are numerous, particularly where the Republican Party is concerned.

This week the conservative Heritage Foundation stirred considerable debate when it released a report suggesting that providing a path to citizenship for illegals could end up costing the country $6.5 trillion. On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, offered scores of amendments aimed at watering the bill down or derailing it. And at Thursday’s Judiciary Committee meeting, six Republicans voted to put off allowing illegal immigrants to apply to become legal citizens until the border is secure. Read More »

President Barack Obama pushed back Wednesday against what he called an effort by some gun-rights advocates to spark fear by spreading misinformation.

In Denver to make the case for gun-control measures, the president railed against some opponents’ suggestions that the government would confiscate people’s guns or that proposed legislation would create a national firearms registry.

“You hear some of these quotes: ‘I need a gun to protect myself from the government.’ ‘We can’t do background checks because the government is going to come take my guns away,’” Mr. Obama said in an address at the Denver Police Academy. “Well, the government is us. These officials are elected by you.” Read More »

Here are excerpts of President Barack Obama‘s speech on gun violence as prepared for delivery and released by the White House. He is scheduled to speak at Denver’s police academy beginning at 5 p.m. EDT today.

From the beginning of this effort, we’ve wanted law enforcement front and center in shaping the discussion and the reforms that emerge from it. After all, you’re often the first to see the terrible consequences of gun violence – lives lost; families broken; communities irrevocably changed. You know what works and what doesn’t, and we wanted that experience and that advice. And I’ve come here to Denver today because Colorado in particular is proving a model for what’s possible.

It’s now been just over 100 days since the murder of 20 innocent children and six brave educators in Newtown, Connecticut shocked this country into doing something to protect our kids. But consider this: over those 100 days or so, more than 100 times as many Americans have fallen victim to gun violence. More than 2,000 of our fellow citizens, struck down, often just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And every day we wait to do something about it, even more are stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun… Read More »

WASHINGTON–President Barack Obama said prosecution of recreational marijuana smokers shouldn’t be a priority for law enforcement, suggesting those who light up in Washington and Colorado have little to fear if they stay within the bounds of state laws.

The president’s comments are his first since voters in Washington and Colorado last month legalized possession of marijuana without a doctor’s prescription. And his remarks are in line with the federal government’s approach to marijuana as the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Agency mostly focus on suppliers of drugs rather than small-time recreational pot users. Read More »

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.